[Reprinted from the Wisconsin State Journal, Wednesday, October 18, 1995. -Ed.]
By Ron Seely, Environmental reporter
With traffic roaring by bumper-to-bumper on nearby University Avenue, four Madison City Council members Tuesday ripped the state Department of Transportation for not studying the impact of its proposed four-lane Highway 12 on the city's congested West Side streets.
The council members-- along with members of the New Transportation Alliance, a group that opposes the expanded highway-- held a press conference late in the afternoon at the intersection of University Avenue and University Bay Drive.
Ald. Steve Holtzman, 19th District, pointed to a snarl of traffic at the intersection, backed-up cars blocking lanes while trying to turn onto University Avenue.
"That's what gridlock looks like," Holtzman said. "It's already here."
Joining Holtzman were council members Ken Golden, 10th District, and Jean McCubbin, 11th District as well as City Council President Wayne Bigelow, 1st District Holtzman and Golden are on Madison's Transportation Commission.
The Madison politicians were critical of the DOT's $61 million plan to turn Highway 12 between Middleton and Sauk City-- and eventually Lake Delton-- into a four-lane highway. They criticized the agency for not studying the impact of traffic from the proposed four-lane on city streets, for not holding what they, consider adequate public hearings on the plan, and for not considering an improved two-lane highway as an alternative.
The council members encouraged Madison residents and others interested in the Highway 12 proposal to attend a hearing on the issue tonight before the Dane County Regional Planning Commission.
Bigelow, who is on the planning commission, said the DOT failed in its draft environmental impact statement to consider the impact of commercial and residential development along the new highway on traffic, including traffic into Madison.
"What we have here is a serious problem in terms of land use planning," Bigelow said. "They don't take into consideration the impact of roads on the development of land use patterns and unsewered suburban sprawl ... Put in a freeway and development follows. I just think simply that for this reason, Highway 12 is a nightmare."
McCubbin said constituents in her West Side district already complain about traffic. "I have people contacting me asking for stoplights not to slow traffic but because they want to cross the street" she said.
Golden and Holtzman said many West Side residential streets, including Capital Drive and Old Middleton Road, are becoming burdened with traffic because frustrated commuters are using them as alternate routes when traditional commuting routes become clogged.
Tom Carlsen, director of the DOT's District One, said there is no evidence that the expanded highway will bring increased development and, therefore, increased trafflic into Madison.
"Traffic would increase if there is development," Carlsen said. "But we don't have any evidence that that would happen or would not happen."
Carlsen also said increased traffic along University Avenue, may be because of increasing development on that street. Also, Carlsen said the agency. did study an improved two-lane as an alternative to the proposed four-lane but found that it would, not have the safety benefits of the expanded highway.
The hearing, before the Dane County Regional Planning Commission, will be at 6 p.m. in Room 201 of the City County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Madison.
Written comments about the project can be sent to the planning commission at 217 S. Hamilton, Madison, WI 53703.